Tax Free Savings accounts or retirement annuities

The start of a year is a great time to re-assess where we are in our journey to financial well-being and turn our attention to creating a financial plan for the rest of the year. One of the most important aspects of this planning is considering the best combination of products in the market for your personal circumstances and needs. This includes tax efficiency, availability of investment funds, value for money, cost structures and access to the funds if one requires them.

South Africa has access to several longer-term savings products that all have their own unique features that could provide some benefit to customer. Two such savings products are retirement annuities and tax-free savings accounts, and here is how they can offer value when it comes to savings:

A retirement annuity is an investment product that one can make once off and monthly contributions to in order to bolster your retirement savings.  RAs offer tax efficiency for both income tax and tax on investment returns. An RA works similar to a company pension fund – but without the employer.

It’s not easy thinking about the future, especially in these incredibly difficult times, and one can easily feel overwhelmed. It’s so important when making these types of decisions to approach a professional financial adviser for advice. They can review your individual circumstances, current savings and your long-term and retirement goals.